Frequent Questions

Q. Can I build a Before I Die wall in my community?

Individuals, students, and community groups are more than welcome to build their own wall for the general public, so long as it is not for commercial or promotional use. To get started, tell us about your plans, and we’ll send you a step-by-step guide as well as some design guidelines and templates.

Q. Can I create a Before I Die wall to promote my company, product, or organization? Can I use it at a conference or event? Or as a fundraising tool?

We generally limit the use of the Before I Die project to communities, students, and individuals who want to create free walls for the general public. However, we do occasionally partner with select companies and organizations who would like to use our project. We offer a commercial-use license for our supporting partners whose contributions sustain our continued work with students and communities. If you’re interested in obtaining a license and becoming a supporting partner, tell us more about what you have in mind and we’ll be in touch.

Q. Can I create a wall with a different prompt than Before I die?

Our focus is on supporting the Before I Die prompt and bringing conversations about mortality into public space—but you’re certainly more than welcome to create your own phrase for a wall that is unaffiliated with our project. If you create your own version, we hope you might mention that your project was inspired by Candy Chang’s Before I Die project and include a link to beforeidie.city wherever reasonable or appropriate.

Q. Will my wall be featured on the website?

With over three thousand walls around the world and dozens more created each week, we are simply unable to create and maintain a web presence for every wall. We occasionally include new walls in our collection that use the Before I Die prompt, typeface, and layout, and we try to represent a range of locations and languages, as well as the different reasons that individuals create a wall for their communities. We hope you will share the story of your wall with us, and we will let you know if it is featured on our website. In the meantime, please share your wall through social media and feel free to create your own web presence for it.